Today, President Obama established a Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience to advise the Administration on how the Federal Government can respond to the needs of communities facing the impacts of climate change. This is an important step in our shared effort to respond to climate change – and like the President’s broader Climate Action Plan, it will help American agriculture mitigate and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate.

America’s farmers, ranchers and landowners have long been tremendous stewards of our environment. At USDA, we have worked with a record number of producers and landowners over the course of the Obama Administration to help conserve the soil and water, and clean our air – more than half a million over the past four and a half years. Meanwhile, in support of the Climate Action Plan, USDA put forward a series of new policies in June to help agriculture develop new climate solutions in the months and years to come. We have taken steps to create seven new regional climate hubs that will aid in sharing climate information for farmers and ranchers. We released the results of the Rapid Carbon Assessment – the largest-ever survey of soil carbon to help improve research efforts. And our new COMET-Farm tool provides a way for producers to see the impacts conservation practices could have on their land.

This new Executive Order directs Federal agencies to engage in similar efforts across the government. Together, we’ll be sure that modern Federal programs work for farmers and ranchers to mitigate the impacts of climate change. We will ensure that our risk management and conservation programs allow producers to undertake modern practices and provide new possibilities for producers and landowners to capitalize on their good stewardship. We’ll continue to help producers manage land and water by increasing participation in conservation programs on farms and private forest lands. We’ll build on the Rapid Carbon Assessment and COMET-Farm tools to continue providing useful data and information to help prepare for climate change impacts. And USDA scientists will continue a wide range of groundbreaking research to learn more about the impacts of climate change on agriculture.

Together, we can ensure that our nation is prepared to deal with the impacts of climate change – and at USDA we will continue taking steps to support a strong American agriculture sector in the face of these modern challenges.

5 Responses to “The President’s New Executive Order on Climate Preparedness: Another Step to Support American Agriculture”

U.S. agriculture, if it is too survive, needs to be protected from urban expansion. An equally strong response from the administration in the form of an E.O. and Task Force is needed to address this issue!

The NRCS needs to expand the Rapid Soil Carbon Assessment and collect a LOT more data on carbon stocks in soils include the nations submerged soils (like in RI) and urban areas – the National Cooperative Soil Survey should do a 2nd phase RCA!

I agree that urban sprawl must be addressed as well. We can not continue to farm marginal lands while our best croplands are covered over with concrete and asphalt. Cities need to build upward, not outward.

The Executive Order on Climate Preparedness is a step in the right direction. The introduction of the President’s Order states that one of the main problems is the increased wildfires in the West. I am curious if the Administration has a specific plan is to combat wildfires because the plan that has been implemented the past few decades has made wildfire destruction grow exponentially. By not allowing forests to naturally burn out some of the underbrush, it builds up and leads to bigger and more dangerous fires in the future. By controlling the burns, the forests can receive the natural benefits of forest fires without some of the destructive consequences. The Department of Agriculture, specifically the Forest Service, should work closely with the experts in the region to have a plan that is specific to their needs.